Uncertainties over China's intentions behind its rapidly rising defense spending — or how it will use the new capabilities — are seen as a source of potential instability in Asia. Participants at the Jan. 23 symposium discussed whether this will cause a "security dilemma" in the region and how China's neighbors have responded so far.
M. Taylor Fravel, an assistant MIT professor of political science, said China's military objectives can be divided into five categories — regime security, territorial integrity, unification with Taiwan, regional stability and maritime security.
The People's Liberation Army is "not a national army" but a "party army," one of whose major functions is to maintain the Communist Party's monopoly on power, he said. Regional security is the key to its future growth as the economy integrates with the global supply chain and becomes intertwined with its neighbors, while maritime security is essential to the protection of China's wealthy coastal regions, he added.